Friday Itunes Party Shuffle

Hey kids, it's that time again, so fire up that Itunes, hit "party shuffle", blush with embarrassment as your worst guilty pleasure songs (Hanson and C&C Music Factory over here) pop up to remind you of what you like when you're drunk!

Here goes nuthin'

The Time Warp--Rocky Horror Picture Show
I Confess--English Beat
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight--REM
As Time Goes By--Jimmy Durante (Sleepless in Seattle)
Doctor! Doctor!--Thompson Twins
Is It Really So Strange--The Smiths
School Days--Chuck Berry
Kiss--Tom Jones (the Prince song)
Games Without Frontiers --Peter Gabriel
What Happened--Sublime

Nothing too bad there. I keep waiting for the wife's music to start showing up (Janet Jackson, Neil Diamond). Heck, I could live with that too. Although, if you notice, I still haven't had anything since the mid-90's. That's starting to bother me.

You know...

Ever have one of those weeks? Sorta blah, no inspiration, no motivation...just, well, blah?
Or is it just me?

This was one of those weeks. I think this whole layoff ordeal is starting to sink in a little. It's not really all that stressful (yet) but it is making me think about things differently. Like, what will I be doing in a month? I mean, I know that for the first couple of months, I'll be "enjoying" the time off, but it won 't be all that emotionally or intellectually challenging............or will it???

Now that I'm jotting this stuff down, the creative juices are flowing and a bunch of ideas are starting to fly at me all at once.
I could take a writing class. Now you're thinking "hey, notJoey, why would you need to take a writing class. So what if your tenses don't match, your comma usage is inconsistent, your spelling is "creative", and other errors that I don't even know the name of? You write good already!" (see?)
Trust me, it would be good for me. Good for everyone.

But I'm digressing, again. I just wanted to whine about my lack of inspiration and the layoff this week and now I'm excited about taking a writing class, or maybe even a cooking class. Damn, I can't even do pathetic very well.

So here I am, about to take an epic journey, a journey that could alter the way that we look at the world, a journey that will prove once and for all; what am I doing here, why am I doing it, and what's gonna happen after I'm done doing whatever it is that I've been doing...and will it hurt, that's important, I'm not a big fan of the physical pain.


That's pretty much it.



(oh, the movie trailer-ish dramatic speech there at the end? well I'm not a very dramatic person in real-life, so in blog-life, I get to be a little dramatic. Deal with it, Bitch!)

see, there it is again.

Plouf via Papa

I went to Plouf last night for dinner. The hostess was kind, but firm. She wouldn't let us sit until the rest of our party arrived. She reminded us of the cigarette girls at the old movie houses, staying just out of reach, but accessible.
The last of our party arrived late.
"Traffic."
"Of course." I said. "Sit down, have an Orangina, or, if you'd prefer, wine."
"Thanks."

My Orangina was smooth and soothing. Like the sunset, but with more liquid. It calmed my nerves. My nerves needed calming lately, with the layoff looming. My friends didn't care.

"So, how's things?" said one.
"Don't ask."

It went on like this for hours. Eventually we ordered some food.
"Moules, pomme frites and another Orangina." It was the same thing I had last time I was here. Or that's what I imagined I would have had, had I been here before.
This was my first time.

We talked of the good times. The past was mostly good, but then we were reminded of how much we hated it, at the time. The Orangina was mucking up my old memories.
Was I happy in the past? Was anyone? Did it matter, or were we just trying to hold on?

"So, more food, another Orangina?" The waiter interrupted us. His questions brought us back to our world. The alley in San Francisco. The string of similar restaurants, side-by-side, fighting for position. Fighting for life.

The night was getting cold. The Orangina was churning in my stomach. It brought me back to the bullring, when Eduardo was gorged by the stray bull. Stray bulls still haunt me, like my friends.

We paid our tab and said goodnight. The night still had that crisp bite to it. I was tired and longed for my bed.

Compare and Contrast

It's a tale of two restaurants, both visited by the wife and I over the Labor Day Weekend, and two entirely different experiences...but both amazing in their own way.

Let's get this started:

Taylor's Refresher vs. Restaurant Michael Mina

(Taylors will always be first)
Location:
Sf Ferry Building vs. the Westin St. Francis Hotel.

Service:
Order at the counter, pick up at a different counter vs. personal waiter, sommelier, floor manager, multiple food presenters, coat-check person, dessert chef.


Table:
Wooden picnic tables located outside vs. white tablecloths, floor-to-ceiling columns, light (and live!) piano music wafting throughout, understated lighting.

Free food items:
None vs. Amuse-bouche of Lobster, 3-ways. Lobster Corn Dog, Lobster Parfait (with tempura sticky rice!) and Lobster Salad. After dessert-- 4 Ice Cream Lollipops. Chocolate covered, with Mint Chocolate Ice Cream in one, Caramel Crunch Ice Cream in the other.


Appetizers:
None vs. Butter Poached Lobster and Ahi Tartare (mixed tableside)

Entrees:
Bacon, Blue Cheese, Onion Rings, and Bbq Sauce all on a Hamburger vs. Miso-Glazed Sea Bass and Kobe Beef prepared 3 ways. (the 3-way preparation is a Michael Mina trademark.)

Dessert
None vs. The "Chocolate" and the "Strawberry." Chocolate consisted of--Peanut Butter Pudding Cake, a Peanut Butter Shake, Banana Bread Pudding with Chocolate Sauce and a Banana/Mocha Pot de Cream, Devil's Food Cake, AND a Caramel Sundae!! (whew!)
Strawberry consisted of-- Rhubarb/Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Sorbet with homemade Marshmallows, Oatmeal Strawberry Butter Crisp, Strawberry "Soup", Chocolate and Strawberry Bread Pudding, AND Chocolate Mousse with fresh Strawberries.


Price
Taylors--$25 vs. Michael Mina $250++

Method Home After Meal
Walk home from SF Ferry Building (3.3 miles) vs. Concierge had a Cab waiting when we left.

So, there you have it. Remember, this is not a competition, but a comparison. It's not every night that we can afford to live the high-life, but oh what a couple of hundred dollars can get you when you want a night on the town.

Laid Off

So, when one door closes, another one opens, or something like that. That's what it says on the card my parents sent me. I hope so, but I'm not too worried.

Like the song says, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"

So, this 6-year temp job is finally coming to an end. What started off as "hey, it's 1999, NASDAQ will never go down, stock options will make us all rich" has come full circle to this: I'm stuck with stock options that may or may not be worthless, and my 401k is finally (FINALLY!!) back to pre-2001 levels.

But at least I won't have a job that I don't like. Whew, I said it. For the past 6 years, I've been putting on a brave face, sticking with the company, riding out the bad economy and awful job market, hoping for the big payoff. I guess I'm still hoping.
But the job itself, sucked. It was boring. I wasn't challenged. Advancement or promotion wasn't a realistic option...but the pay was nice. It kept me here. It was safe and consistent. While people all around me were being let go, I stayed and survived. I learned how much (or little) work I needed to do in order to stay employed. But my number finally came up.

In all honesty, I'd have to say that this was handled in a fair way. I was told on Aug 31st, but they're keeping me here until mid-October...plus a nice severance package to boot...so, no, I'm not being escorted out of the building.

So, I get a "vacation" (the wife will have much to say about that), and get to "find myself" again, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find work that inspires me, challenges me, and makes me feel like I'm really contributing something, or at least creating something that I can put my name on and say... I did this.

We might move up to Portland. Yes, everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't we?
I'll get a job at Powells, spend my days at Stumptown and still have my weekends at the Farmers Market.

Friday NIght Itunes Shuffle

Here's today's Itunes Friday Night Party Shuffle...


It's Still Rock and Roll to Me -- Billy Joel
Anyone -- Yaz
Going Underground -- The Jam
Waiting for the Sun-- The Jayhawks
Mr. Wendal -- Arrested Development
There She Goes Again -- Velvet Underground
Two Hearts -- The Jayhawks
Rock Lobster -- The B52's
One Step Beyond -- Madness
Glycerine -- Bush
Down in the Tube Station at Midnight -- The Jam

Last week we had 2 from LL Cool "J" and now 2 each from the Jam and Jayhawks. (and Mr. Joel). This "J" infestation has me troubled.

The Week that Was

Well, what can one say? The hurricane catastrophe doesn't seem to be getting any better. I don't really want to re-hash what other people are saying better than I could, so I'll leave you with couple of links to get the feel of what the smart people are saying. Plus, some of these writers (bloggers, reporters) can show you how and where to donate money, time and goods.

Oh, I can't let this go...FEMA has a list of charities to dontate to on their main page.
The 3rd charity? Operation Blessing. Heard of it? You may have heard of the founder.
He recently called for the assassination of an elected head of state. Yep, none other than Pat Roberton is #3 on the FEMA list of charities.

What a country!!!!
(****UPDATE-9/7/05-The Pat Robertson charity has mysteriously disappeared from the FEMA website without any explanation, hmmmm, but it is still on the Spanish version of the page)


Another question that popped into my head...Where's VP Cheney? Has anyone seen him?
Is he healthy (for him)?
Condi had to cut her vacation short when she was spotted in NYC taking in Broadway shows and buying $500 pairs of shoes this week. (Conservative? Yes! Compassionate? Not so much.)

Oh, on a personal note. I got laid off this week. Now it's certainly not the end of the world for Mr. and Mrs. NotJoey, but it does shake things up a little.
I'll still be employed for the next 6 weeks, but after that, a new adventure begins.

Stay tuned.